The Queen of Jotunheim

Chapter 7: Two Cultures

Chapter 7:
Bridging the gap between
Two Cultures

Loki thought for sure that walking beside a Frost Giant for a longer period of time would make him feel small, but as he walked beside Nix and showed her around with his mother, he could not help but feel... Comfortable.

Of course, he couldn't escape the reality of being small next to the Queen of Jotunheim. After all, the 'Giant' part of their name was no joke. Even though Nix appeared to be among the shorter Frost Giant, Loki's height barely grazed her chest. Looking at her, he would estimate she was at least a meter taller than him.

His mother too seemed aware of the height difference but showed no sign that it was bothering her in any way. The tour of the castle seemed a little rushed, at least on the part of the castle that the Jotuns would have no good reason to visit. As they neared the wing that had been renovated to accommodate them the tour got more detailed and Loki took over more since this was his work.

"We redesigned this part of the castle to have a temperature that more closely matches your homeland," Loki said proudly, guiding the group into the big hallway that led to all their rooms. As soon as one steps into this area they would feel the temperature switch. Loki would compare it to walking into a walk-in-freezer, a thing he himself had done on days that were too hot.

Loki could not hide his delighted grin as he saw the Jotuns relax, clearly pleased by the temperature change as they took deep breaths, loosening their shoulders and stretched a little. He gave an even wider smile as the Queen herself took off her veil and gave a pleased smile with her eyes closed. "This is truly wonderful," she whispered, opening her eyes again and turning to Loki, the full power of her eyes back now that there was no veil between them.

Loki felt himself blush again but tried to hide it by quickly continuing the tour. "We prepared several rooms, though some act more like dormitories as we did not have enough space to give everyone a room for themself."

"That is more than alright, I did not expect to bring this many people myself," Nix said, turning around to look at her warriors with lifted eyebrows, "but many of them insisted. I am sure you will hear no complaints about them having to share a room."

Loki turned to look at the warriors too and was shocked at how relaxed they already seemed. When they had walked to the castle they had all been just as alert as The Einherjar, the royal guards of Asgard, but now they were all relaxed and even a little goofy.

"I am NOT sharing a room with Gorgie," one of them said, elbowing the warrior beside him, "his snoring is worse than an Ursidon!" His comment made many of the warriors chuckle and there was a bit more shoving around amongst them.

"Well counting how many rooms there are here I would say there are 4 rooms for the guards," one of the Jotuns in the robes said, their voice sounding more feminine, "2 rooms for the rest of us, and I'm guessing the room with a double bed was meant for her majesty."

Loki was a bit stunned, hearing another female Jotunn, but nodded. "Yes that was the idea, but we won't force you to pick the room if you do not-" He started saying, but was interrupted by the Queen putting a hand softly on his shoulder.

"It's quite alright Loki, thank you for preparing so much for us," Nix said with a warm smile that once again sent a warm feeling into his chest, but also a deep sadness as he was reminded that Nix had not expected any kind of hospitality when she got here, and probably for a good reason.

Nix turned to Frigga and curtsied again, a lot lower than when she did it for Odin and spoke in a warmer tone. "Thank you for showing us around your Majesty, but if it is alright with you we would like to rest until the feast."